The International Olympic Committee is corrupt and hypocritical, but it may have discovered somewhat of a spine as it continues to deal with Russia’s Olympic eligibility.

The IOC had previously “banned” Russia from participating in the Olympics, still allowing Russian athletes to participate as “individual neutral athletes” after the country invaded Ukraine (again) in 2022. This stance has angered Russian officials, who have accused the IOC of racism and “neo-Nazism.” One Russian sports official said the country should roll into Paris with tanks.

The IOC, rather than rolling over and capitulating to an authoritarian human rights abuser as it has repeatedly with China and other countries, finally took enough offense to put its foot down. The IOC called Russia’s statements “unacceptable” and “aggressive” and condemned Russia’s alternative to the Olympics that was planned to rival the real deal. The back-and-forth feuding has led several Russian athletes to withdraw from the 2024 Paris Olympics (voluntarily or otherwise).

For once, when the rubber met the road, the IOC took a (somewhat) difficult stand for human rights. It is a marked change from the IOC giving a pass to Russia’s previous authoritarian and warmongering acts, including Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine that followed the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. The IOC didn’t bring its foot down then or when Russia was caught running a state-sanctioned doping operation to boost athlete performances. (Russia was allowed to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics as the “Russian Olympic Committee,” the weakest “punishment” you could imagine.)

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It isn’t much. It is especially embarrassing when you remember that China is coming off of its own doping scandal and the country was running a state-authorized genocide of Uyghur Muslims and still got to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. But it is something. The IOC is standing on morals and also disproving its cop-out response used on China and others that it doesn’t engage in politics. In other words, it is a good first step, proof that the IOC can put its foot down on a country other than Afghanistan or South Africa.

Maybe now the IOC can finally start throwing its weight around against an Olympic-obsessed China. Recognizing Taiwan as its own independent entity would be a good first start.